The present invention relates to a wrapping mechanism for enveloping a large round bale, located within a bale-forming chamber, with a wrap material such as plastic sheet or net, for example. More particularly the present invention relates to apparatus for guiding wrap material into the bale-forming chamber of a large round baler.
The present invention is particularly adapted for use with large round balers of the type including a plurality of bale-forming belts mounted in spaced relationship across a plurality of fixed and movable rolls arranged such that the belts cooperate with opposite sidewalls of the baler to define an expansible bale chamber having an inlet located in the bottom thereof. Some of these fixed rolls are carried by a bale discharge gate which is vertically swingable to expand the chamber inlet sufficiently to discharge a bale therefrom. U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,282 issued to Anstey on Jan. 31, 1984 discloses a large round baler of this type.
The bale-forming belts of this type of baler make it necessary to feed wrap material through the bale-forming chamber inlet in order to wrap a bale located in the chamber. One known baler of this type is provided with a wrapping mechanism mounted to the rear end of the discharge gate. A problem attendant with a rear mounted mechanism is that of keeping the driven feed apparatus and material cut-off apparatus located in a relatively clean environment while at the same time providing guide apparatus for effectively guiding the wrap material from the feed apparatus to the bale chamber inlet.